Judge Kavanaugh ethics complaints, Christine Blasey Ford death threats, Kavanaugh sexual assault allegations, Shelter Migrant Child Abuse

 

-  Chief Justice John Roberts is referring ethics complaints against new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh

- Statement on BrettKavanaugh.com

-  Christine Blasey Ford Still Can't Return Home Due to Threats

-  Democrats not giving up Kavanaugh battle "taking steps to obtain and release detailed documents and emails about the sexual assault allegations against him"

-  Arizona Shelter Shut in Latest Case of Migrant Child Abuse

 

 

Roberts asks federal judges to handle Kavanaugh complaints
The Associated Press MARK SHERMAN Oct 10th 2018
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts is referring ethics complaints against new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to federal judges in Colorado and neighboring states.

 

The complaints deal with statements Kavanaugh made during his confirmation hearings. They were filed originally with Kavanaugh's old court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

 

Roberts took no action on them while Kavanaugh's nomination was pending. He received the first three of 15 eventual complaints on Sept. 20, a week before Kavanaugh's angry denial of a sexual assault allegation by Christine Blasey Ford.

 

It's possible the complaints will never be investigated if the lower-court judges determine they have no jurisdiction over a Supreme Court justice under the judiciary's ethics rules. The judges may be forced to conclude "that intervening events have rendered the allegations moot or make remedial action impossible," said Arthur Hellman, an ethics professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

 

Another ethicist, Stephen Gillers of New York University, disagreed that the complaints are moot. Kavanaugh remains a federal judge and the complaints "allege misconduct that occurred while Kavanaugh was on the D.C. Circuit and subject to the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges. Any violation of the Code does not disappear because he is now on another federal court," Gillers said in an email.

But Gillers said the complaints "may be found not to be meritorious in the end."....

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/10/10/roberts-asks-federal-judges-to-handle-kavanaugh-complaints/23557425/ 

 

 

Statement on BrettKavanaugh.com
October 9, 2018
Three years ago, I bought a handful of URLs that I thought might be useful in any forthcoming Supreme Court confirmation battles. Included were BrettKavanaugh.com, .org and .net.

 

Today I am redirecting those three to a landing page with resources for victims of sexual assault.

I believe Dr. Ford. I believe Prof. Hill. I also believe that asking for forgiveness is a sign of maturity and strength, not weakness.

 

Watching the White House ceremony last night and listening to the President again cast doubt on the veracity of Dr. Ford’s claims, while not hearing a word of contrition from the newest justice, was difficult for many Americans who have experienced sexual misconduct firsthand.

Fix the Court stands with you. We believe you, and we support you. And if you seek additional resources, you can go to BrettKavanaugh.com.
https://fixthecourt.com/2018/10/kavanaughurl/

 

 

Christine Blasey Ford Still Can't Return Home Due to Threats
By Natasha Bach October 8, 2018

The book is closed on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. But while he has been confirmed to the highest court, the story isn’t over for his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.

 

Ford’s lawyers told NBC News on Sunday that Ford and her family have still been unable to return to their home due to the death threats she continues to face after testifying against Kavanaugh on Sep. 27.

 

“Her family has been through a lot,” Debra Katz said. “They are not living at home. It’s going to be quite some time before they’re able to live at home.”

“The threats have been unending,” she added, “It’s deplorable. It’s been very frightening.”

 

Ford had already alluded to these threats in her testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, telling the committee that she and her family had been living in “various secure locales” with security guards since Sept. 16. She said that she and her family had been subject to harassment and death threats, and that she had been “called the most vile and hateful names imaginable.”

“My greatest fears have been realized—and the reality has been far worse than what I expected,” she said.

 

Ford’s other attorney, Lisa Banks, told NBC that the government’s handling of Ford’s case was “far worse” than that of Anita Hill. With Hill, she said, “there was a full FBI investigation before there was ever a hearing.”

 

She added that Ford was “horrified” by Trump’s comments that sought to undermine her credibility. “She was upset by it, yes, as any woman would be who’s the victim of sexual assault and was mocked and belittled by anyone, never mind the president of the United States,” Banks said.

http://fortune.com/2018/10/08/christine-blasey-ford-still-facing-threats/

 

 

 

Democrats not giving up Kavanaugh battle
The conservative jurist is settling into a lifetime appointment, but Democratic leaders think they can still discredit him and GOP leaders
By JOSH GERSTEIN 10/10/2018

 

Democrats are showing no signs of backing off their battle against newly minted Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, pressing forward with legal fights to unearth potentially damaging records that didn’t go public during the white-hot nomination contest.

 

Democratic leaders are taking steps to obtain and release detailed documents and emails about the sexual assault allegations against him and disputed aspects of his service during the Bush administration.

 

While Democrats are strategizing to get what they consider the most potentially impactful records out soon, it’s all but certain that the process will drag on for years and perhaps even decades.

 

Many Democrats are skittish about talk of impeaching Kavanaugh, an effort that seems doomed in the Senate even if Democrats win control of the House in midterm elections next month. But there seems to be a broad consensus on the left to keep up the fight for documents lawmakers believe should have been made public before the vote on Trump’s second high court nominee.

 

Democratic lawmakers say it’s worth serving up a reminder of how Republicans tried to short-circuit the process and gave short shrift to Ford’s allegations.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi followed through Wednesday on a promised Freedom of Information Act request demanding records related to the background investigation the FBI reopened into Kavanaugh after Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he sexually assaulted her during high school, a claim Kavanaugh categorically denied.

 

“The FBI’s supplemental background investigation appears to have been significantly limited in scope to ensure that a thorough investigation would not take place, numerous witnesses would not be questioned, and numerous questions would not be asked — including whether Justice Kavanaugh deliberately misled Congress on multiple subjects,” Pelosi wrote in her letter seeking documents about the FBI's interviews and the ground rules for the inquiry. “The public must know what limitations were imposed on the FBI and who imposed them, so this never happens again.”....
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/10/kavanaugh-faces-drip-drip-drip-on-records-892054

 

 

Arizona Shelter Shut in Latest Case of Migrant Child Abuse

By Associated Press

 

(PHOENIX) — Staff members at a Phoenix-area shelter for unaccompanied migrant children physically abused three children, leading to the closure of the shelter, federal officials said. It was the latest in a series of incidents of alleged abuse involving staff members at shelters and children.

 

Southwest Key’s Hacienda del Sol shelter was shut down last Friday, but federal officials did not reveal the reason behind the closure until Tuesday.

The Texas-based federal contractor has fired the staffers involved in the Sept. 18 incident, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement....

 

Arizona has seen numerous allegations of sexual abuse at its many shelters for immigrant children, including one made by the government of El Salvador, which said it received reports of three children, 12 to 17, who were sexually abused at unnamed shelters in Arizona. 

 

Last month, a former youth care worker was convicted of sexually abusing seven teenage boys at a Phoenix-area shelter for immigrant children.

In August, authorities arrested a 32-year-old man on allegations that he had molested a 14-year-old girl at a Southwest Key facility the previous month....
http://time.com/5421462/arizona-migrant-children-shelter-abuse/ 

Kavanaugh accuser 'faces death threats', The truth about false assault accusations by women - false accusations are rare, Grace Road

-  Christine Blasey Ford: Kavanaugh accuser 'faces death threats'

-  The truth about false assault accusations by women

-  'I lost my entire family to a cult': How one woman escaped Grace Road

- False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF) "a pseudoscientific syndrome that was developed to defend against claims of child abuse."

- False allegations of child sexual abuse by children are rare  

- Recovered Memory Data

- Memory disturbances and dissociative amnesia in Holocaust survivors

- False memory syndrome proponents tactics

Christine Blasey Ford: Kavanaugh accuser 'faces death threats'
 
The woman who accuses US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of attempting to rape her will not testify to the Senate next week, says her lawyer.

Christine Blasey Ford's attorney told CNN her client has been "deflecting death threats and harassment".

Lawyer Lisa Banks said before her client goes to Congress, she wants an FBI investigation into Judge Kavanaugh.

The nominee, who denies the claim, has met officials at the White House for a second day....

Prof Ford, a psychology lecturer in California, has accused Judge Kavanaugh of drunkenly trying to remove her clothing in 1982 when they were both teenagers in a Washington DC suburb.

Judge Kavanaugh, 53, has called the allegation "completely false."...

Prof Ford's legal team say they have written to Senate Judiciary Committee declining its offer to testify.

Her lawyer told CNN on Tuesday night: "It's premature to talk about a hearing on Monday because she [Prof Ford] has been dealing with the threats, the harassment and the safety of her family and that's what she's been focused on for the last couple of days."....

She said that since going public with her allegation in the Washington Post on Sunday, Prof Ford has been trying to work out where her family are going to sleep at night.

The legal team's letter says that Prof Ford's family has been forced to move out of their home, her email has been hacked and she has been impersonated online....

The correspondence says "a full investigation by law enforcement officials will ensure that the crucial facts and witnesses in this matter are assessed in a non-partisan manner, and that the Committee is fully informed before conducting any hearing or making any decisions".

The development comes a day after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Chuck Grassley announced plans for the hearing....
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45568450

The truth about false assault accusations by women
Katty Kay Presenter, BBC World News
18 September 2018

According to various academic studies over the past 20 years, only 2-10% of rape accusations are fake (Prof Ford's lawyer says she believes this was attempted rape).

Two to 10% is too many, but it is not a big proportion of the total. Fake rape accusations get a lot of attention....

False rape accusations very rarely lead to convictions or wrongful jail time.

A useful article in Quartz by Sandra Newman points to research from the British Home Office showing that in the early 2000s, of the 216 cases that were classified as false allegations, only six led to an arrest.

Of those, only two had charges brought against them and those two were found to be false. ...

The idea that lots of men are going to prison because they've been falsely accused of rape isn't supported by the facts.

Moreover, official figures suggest the number of rapes and sexual assaults which are never reported or prosecuted far outweighs the number of men convicted of rape because of fake accusations.

Indeed it far outweighs the number of fake accusations, period.

Figures from the US Bureau of Justice Statistics suggest only 35% of all sexual assaults are even reported to the police....

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45565684

What kind of person makes false rape accusations?
By Sandra Newman May 11, 2017

Innocent men rarely face rape charges

....Let’s start with the idea that false rape accusations ruin lives, and are therefore a universal risk to men. Generally, feminists dismiss this idea by arguing that false accusations are rare—only between 2% and 10% of all reports are estimated to be false. What’s equally important to know, however, is that false rape accusations almost never have serious consequences.

This may be hard to believe, especially considering that rape is a felony, punishable with years of prison. However—to start with this worst-case scenario—it’s exceedingly rare for a false rape allegation to end in prison time. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, since records began in 1989, in the US there are only 52 cases where men convicted of sexual assault were exonerated because it turned out they were falsely accused. By way of comparison, in the same period, there are 790 cases in which people were exonerated for murder.

Furthermore, in the most detailed study ever conducted of sexual assault reports to police, undertaken for the British Home Office in the early 2000s, out of 216 complaints that were classified as false, only 126 had even gotten to the stage where the accuser lodged a formal complaint. 

Only 39 complainants named a suspect. Only six cases led to an arrest, and only two led to charges being brought before they were ultimately deemed false. (Here, as elsewhere, it has to be assumed that some unknown percentage of the cases classified as false actually involved real rapes; what they don’t involve is countless innocent men’s lives being ruined.)

So the evidence suggests that even in the rare case where a man is the subject of a false rape complaint, chances are that the charges will be dropped without him ever learning about the allegations. This raises an obvious question: Why would false accusers go through the trouble of making a report to police, only to instantly withdraw it?...

https://qz.com/980766/the-truth-about-false-rape-accusations/

'I lost my entire family to a cult': How one woman escaped Grace Road
 
A South Korean church which believes global famine is imminent has set up base in Fiji, where it's gained considerable influence but faced growing allegations of abuse. One woman who fled what she believes is a cult told the BBC's Yvette Tan she lost her family in the process - but has no regrets.

Seoyeon Lee had one chance to escape and she took it, running down the road in Fiji in her pyjamas and flip-flops.

"I was crying and I looked hysterical," she told the BBC.

The then 21-year-old was being pursued by members of Grace Road - including her own mother - who she says had tricked her into going to the Pacific island nation.
 "I would have killed myself if they'd made me stay," she says

'I think it's a cult'

A year earlier, in 2013, Seoyeon had come home to South Korea from the US, where she was studying, for the summer. Her mum was suffering from uterine cancer but had refused treatment.

She told Seoyeon she would only seek treatment if she went with her to Grace Road Church.

"It was very bizarre," said Seoyeon. "There were people screaming, crying, speaking in tongues and the sermon was about how the end times were coming.

"I told my mum, I think it's a cult but she didn't believe me."....

South Korea has a significant Christian population, and in recent decades many small, fringe churches have sprung up, some of them developing cult-like characteristics.

Grace Road, which insists it is not a cult, started out small in 2002, but now numbers about 1,000 followers, according to Prof Tark Ji-il of Busan Presbyterian University, who has closely studied Korean cults....

"When my dad died, we were left a certain sum of money. I'm pretty sure my mum took all that and gave it to the church," she said. "They make you sell your property, quit your job, cut off your friends."

The group has built up a sizeable business empire, from construction to restaurants to agriculture.

"Farming is our original mission because we need to prepare for the famine, we need to be self-sufficient," Daniel Kim, president of GR Group and Ms Shin's son told the BBC....

'No choice but to stay'

But over the past year, a bleak picture has emerged of life inside Grace Road.

Five church members who had returned to South Korea accused Ms Shin of confiscating their passports and holding them against their will. They alleged the church used forced labour and issued ritual beatings so harsh that they led to the death of one follower....

In July, Ms Shin was arrested while back in South Korea on charges of assault and confinement. She was alleged to have abandoned the church members, confiscated their passports, and overseen a brutal regime.

Then in August, Fijian and South Korean authorities conducted a joint raid on the church in Fiji, arresting Mr Kim and several other senior members as part of a slavery investigation.

They were released without charge, but according to Fiji's police commissioner, investigations are "ongoing".

A documentary by South Korean broadcaster SBS last month included footage of Ms Shin beating her followers.

Chief Chun Jae-hong of the Korean National Police Agency told SBS that many had "donated their entire fortune to the church, so even if they go back they are penniless... so they have no choice [but to stay]"....

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45492913

 

 

False Memory Syndrome  

The term False Memory Syndrome was created in 1992 by the False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF)[1]. It has been called "a pseudoscientific syndrome that was developed to defend against claims of child abuse."[1] The FMSF was created by parents who claimed to be falsely accused of child sexual abuse.[1] 

 

The False Memory Syndrome was described as "a widespread social phenomenon where misguided therapists cause patients to invent memories of sexual abuse."[1] Research has shown that most delayed memories of childhood abuse are true[2].

 

 In general, it has been shown that false allegations of childhood sexual abuse are rare, with some studies showing rates as low as one percent[3][4] and some studies showing slightly higher rates[3]. It has been found that children tend to understate rather than overstate the extent of any abuse experienced[3]. It has been stated that misinformation on the topic of child sexual abuse is widespread and that the media have contributed to this problem by reporting favorably on unproven and controversial claims like the False Memory Syndrome[5].  https://childabusewiki.org/index.php?title=False_Memory_Syndrome 

 

False allegations of child sexual abuse by children are rare  

“allegations made by child victims match closely with confessions of pedophiles”

 

“The evidence indicates that very few (children) lied originally.”
“children tend to minimize and deny abuse, not exaggerate or over-report such incidents”
How often do children’s reports of abuse turn out to be false? Research has consistently shown that false allegations of child sexual abuse by children are rare. Jones and McGraw examined 576 consecutive referrals of child sexual abuse to the Denver Department of Social Services, and categorized the reports as either reliable or fictitious. In only 1% of the total cases were children judged to have advanced a fictitious allegation.  https://ritualabuse.us/research/false-allegations-of-child-sexual-abuse-by-children-are-rare/ 

Memory disturbances and dissociative amnesia in Holocaust survivors http://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/scholarly-resources/holocaust/
The following articles provide compelling scientific evidence in support of the phenomena of dissociation and recovered memory in Holocaust survivors. In addition to supporting the phenomenon in general, these articles also counter the argument that recovered memory is (a) no more than a recent cultural “fad” and (b) specific to false accusers of sexual abuse.
http://ritualabuse.us/research/memory-fms/memory-disturbances-and-dissociative-amnesia-in-holocaust-survivors/

Recovered Memory Data with information on recovered memory corroboration, theories on recovered memory, legal information, physiological evidence for memory suppression, replies to skeptics and books and articles on memory   http://ritualabuse.us/research/memory-fms/recovered-memory-data/


Recovered memory corroboration rates – There are many studies that show fairly high corroboration rates for recovered  memories.  http://ritualabuse.us/research/memory-fms/recovered-memory-corroboration-rates/

False memory syndrome proponents tactics

False memory syndrome proponents have done the following to try and ensure that only their point of view is in the public view.
1) Harassing debate opponents
2) Misrepresenting the data in the field
3) Controlling the media

https://ritualabuse.us/research/memory-fms/false-memory-syndrome-proponents-tactics/ 

Yorkshire MEP sent death threats over Rotherham scandal, Rotherham child-sex victim confronts her alleged abuser in the street but she is arrested

Rotherham child-sex victim confronts her alleged abuser in the street... but SHE is arrested by a van load of police
    Victim saw man she says abused her walking the town's streets
    The now 28-year-old challenged him over claims of grooming and violence
    But when police arrived, she was handcuffed and arrested by officers
    She was 'shoved into van' by two officers in 'thuggish' arrest, witness says
    Police later realised they had been hoping to interview her over claims
    She refused to speak to them after she was reportedly pushed against wall
By Richard Spillett for MailOnline
15 September 2014

....A damning report released last month detailed how 1,400 children were sexually exploited in the area over a 16-year period.

The Times reported that a woman whose case is being investigated by authorities - but has not yet been interviewed - was arrested after tackling a man she says groomed her when she was 15.

A witness accused the police of 'acting like insensitive thugs', telling the paper: 'A police van came and six male officers piled out.

....The arrest comes after an inquiry into long-running child abuse in the area revealed families who tried to step in were in some cases themselves detained by police.

The Jay report into the scandal stated: 'In two of the cases, fathers tracked down their daughters and tried to remove them from houses where they were being abused, only to be arrested themselves when police were called to the scene.'....
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2756140/Rotherham-child-abuse-victim-confronts-alleged-abuser-street-SHE-arrested-van-load-police.html


Yorkshire MEP sent death threats over Rotherham scandal
A EURO MP has had death threats for lifting the lid on the Rotherham child sex scandal.  By Scott Hesketh 14th September 2014

Jane Collins has been told to stay away from the town after she hit out at the council.

Now police have responded to a flood of menacing emails and phone calls to her house by installing a panic button. They also plan to put in a safe room.

In an exclusive interview, The Ukip MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber said: “I didn’t get death threats before.

“The more we reveal and the more we push the nastier it’s going to get.”

Meanwhile, more details emerged about controversial ex-councillor Jahangir Akhtar, who denies covering up for violent adult offender Arshid Hussain.

Hussain was named by 18 girls as their “boyfriend” when they were sent to a council organisation for the victims of paedophiles....
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/399718/Yorkshire-MEP-death-threats-Rotherham-scandal  

Dioceses oust abusers had pledged to monitor, child abuse witness death threats

Dioceses oust abusers they had pledged to monitor By RACHEL ZOLL (AP) 7/4/10
NEW YORK — At the peak of the Roman Catholic clergy sex abuse crisis, the discipline plan American bishops adopted prompted dioceses to remove nearly all accused clergy from the priesthood. Some of the men, however, were considered too old or sick to be kicked out. Instead, bishops barred those clerics from functioning as priests and promised to keep watch over them in supervisory programs that would keep the men far from children.
But interviews with canon lawyers, church child protection officials and experts who advise them found that, eight years after the plan was approved, few of those diocesan programs exist. Church leaders are more likely to oust a cleric from the priesthood than monitor him. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hlHdJHra37XaI5cjan-Cm_WJNdhQD9GOCFV80

Child abuse witnesses get death threats 04 Jul 2010 Police investigating claims of child abuse by Belgian clergy say they are probing death threats against witnesses and magistrates. The threats have been made to witnesses who gave information to the police and to the magistrates who may end up judging the case. Last month, police raided a meeting of Catholic bishops as part of a probe into allegations of child abuse by priests in Belgium. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=133423&sectionid=351020605